One thing that can be confusing is that certain kinds of records – Contacts, Appointments, E-mails and Tasks – can be created in either Outlook or CRM. For example, suppose you create an Outlook appointment and track it in CRM with Set Regarding. Alternatively, you might create an appointment directly in CRM, and have it sync down to Outlook automatically.

Assuming you’re synchronizing between Outlook and Dynamics CRM, either of these two approaches will create a synchronized appointment record: changes made in CRM will push down to your Outlook calendar, and changes made in Outlook will push up to CRM.

But…it still might matter how you create the record, since custom fields created in CRM will only appear on the CRM form, never on the Outlook version of the form. You can set your personal options to use the CRM version of the form by following these steps:

1. In the Outlook client, click the File tab, and then click CRM.
2. Click the Options button in the Set Personal Options section.
3. Use the options in the Select which forms to use section to instruct Outlook to use the CRM version of the forms:

   

4. Then click OK to save and close.

That’s pretty straightforward, and if you do that and then create one of those record types from the CRM tab, you will see the CRM version of the form, including any custom fields that might be available.

But you can do better than that! Follow these steps to add shortcuts to the Outlook 2010 Quick Access Toolbar, and you will never be more than two clicks away from creating any record type in Dynamics CRM, directly from the Outlook client:

1. Right-click any ribbon in Outlook 2010 and click Customize Quick Access Toolbar…
2. At the bottom of the Outlook Options dialog, make sure the Show Quick Access Toolbar below the Ribbon is selected, then click OK.

   

3. Click the CRM tab on the Outlook ribbon.

   

4. Right-click anything in the New group on the CRM tab, and click Add to Quick Access Toolbar.

   

    

   For this example, I’ll add the New CRM Activity and New CRM Record drop-down menus, as well as the New Appointment button:

   

   After adding these to the Quick Access Toolbar, you’re never more than one click away from adding a CRM appointment, two clicks away from any activity or any CRM record:

   

P.S. — Adam V’s excellent comment (see below) reminded me of something else I left out of this article’s first draft: The CRM Shortcuts within Outlook Shortcuts. Click Ctrl+7 to get to Outlook Shortcuts. Then, right-click the CRM Shortcuts folder and click New Shortcut. You can then navigate to your CRM folders in the Add to Navigation Pane dialog, and add any you like to the CRM Shortcuts folder. Nice!

This is the second in a series of recorded sessions on realizing business value from the Dynamics CRM Outlook client. Here I focus on how to promote standalone Outlook contact records to Dynamics CRM, and how to work with the subsequently synchronized records. 

If you’ve got Outlook users, you’ve got contact records locked away on desktops that should be shared and cared for in your CRM. The Outlook client gives you a great way to get this done:

Here’s a “ten-minute tip” video on the topic I posted on YouTube. I hope you learn something from it, and let me know if you have any questions.